2020 Subaru Forester Electrical System Problems

My Apple Car Play has never worked since I bought the car new in 2020. The dealership's solution each time I asked about it was for me to get a new plug in cord, update my iPhone settings, and then they can update the system manually. I have taken it in multiple times, and each time it has worked for 2-3 weeks before it no longer works again. This is dangerous because it usually happens mid-drive, and I no longer have the directions of where I am going, without stopping the vehicle. I also have to hold my phone and look at the directions since it does not display on the screen.

stalling/shutting down at stoplights with the auto start-stop feature has occurred continuously for the last 2 years I’ve taken to dealer, and multiple mechanics and they can’t find a problem

My son, [XXX] is currently driving this car. The car only has 29,200 miles so far. Last week, while at the stop light on the hill, he had near fatal accident! Forester suddenly completed shut down. The only functioning part was the brake. My son had to put the car in park and restart the engine. I reported the incident to customer advocate at Subaru and taking the car in for inspection. We never skip any scheduled maintenance. My next maintenance not due until April. I also purchased Subaru safety monitoring software. The car never shows any malfunction. It’s a very serious issue. We strongly suspect it’s related to the start-stop system on this car. We strongly support to override the system at consumer level giving their unreliability. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

While driving on public roads, all dash warning lights illuminated simultaneously. The instrument cluster displayed “EyeSight OFF.” At the same time, the electronic parking brake engaged / the vehicle would not accelerate and required me to stop and shift to Park. The only way to restore drivability was to turn the vehicle off and restart. This has occurred intermittently, including in traffic, creating a serious safety hazard for myself and surrounding drivers.

Car frequently dies and won't want to start. Have changed the battery already. Will come to a stop and it will just randomly shut down. Have had to shift to park and restart the car. This is unsafe.

2020 Subaru Forester periodically will stall out at a light or stop sign in heavy traffic. It then takes several attempts to restart. (Sometimes completely dead) My mechanic hasI changed the battery and checked the alternator, all in working order. It’s hard to figure out what is wrong because it doesn’t happen all the time.

We were traveling in rural California, 1 hour north of Bishop, CA on [XXX] when our vehicle's "Check Engine" light, "Parking Break" light, and several other lights lit up on our dashboard. Our car began to stall out immediately. We were able to pull off to the side of the road as best as we could as we were towing a camper at the time as well. We waited for 4 hours to get our vehicle and camper towed 1 hour away to a mechanic. The mechanic couldn't fix our car, but we were able to get an engine code reader to clear the codes as they came up. The closest Subaru dealership was 4 hours away in Las Vegas, NV. We had to drive through mountains and Death Valley. Despite using the engine code reader to clear codes every 30 seconds, our car stalled out 6 times on the way. The problem was the thermo control valve for P26A6, a known problem with Subaru vehicles like ours. We had our vehicle serviced in July 2025 for 60,000 miles and the dealership did not say anything about this known issue. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

When stopped at an intersection the car stalled. It would not restart for three minutes and caused a dangerous situation for my family and children in the car while traffic was moving. There were no warning signs, lights, or engine codes. The problem is random and cannot reproduced. The car is available for inspection.

I, the owner of a 2020 Subaru Forester am writing to you in regards to an issue with my vehicle’s Eyesight program. Over the past month, there have been several instances where the Eyesight program fails and caused the vehicle to suddenly stop without warning. This prevents me from safely moving the vehicle to the side of the road as the car stops. In other words, the car abruptly stops on the spot. This creates an immediate danger to life and health to myself and to other motorists. This issue must be addressed immediately and the necessary steps taken to ensure the safety the driver, passengers and other motorists on the road. Thank you for understanding.

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while his wife was stopped at a red traffic light in the middle lane and surrounded by other vehicles, the auto START/STOP system engaged; however, when the brake pedal was released, the vehicle failed to restart. After several attempts, the vehicle eventually restarted, allowing the driver to safely pull over. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with a dead battery. The dealer advised the contact about turning off the auto START/STOP system. The battery had been marked as good on two separate occasions. The battery was replaced. The contact reached out to the manufacturer, who opened a case but confirmed there was no warranty coverage on the vehicle. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 36,585.

Parasitic battery drain

I was stopped at a red light and the engine stalled. It read "FOR SAFETY, AUTO RESTART DISABLED". All warning lights on the dashboard lit up. I had to put the car in park and restart it in order to drive. I was honked at and put in a dangerous position. This has happened at least twice now.

This has happened 8 times in a month span. The car is currently being looked at by the dealership and so far they can’t find anything wrong. When I’m stopped in traffic, my car’s engine turns off. Once the light turns green and I press on the accelerator I hear a beep and the car doesn’t move . The dashboard shows a few error messages and a message stating that the eyesight has been turned off. In order to get the car to work again I have to put it in park, turn it off, and turn it on again. It is particularly dangerous because the car won’t move when the light is green.

While driving, the vehicle's Automatic Stop-Start System Engaged as usual when the car came to a stop (e.g., at a red light or in traffic). However, when releasing the brake, the Automatic Stop-Start System failed to restart the engine. Not only it failed to restart the engine, but multiple attempts of manually start the engine all failed. And the car became stranded in the middle of road with heavy traffic. Had to call 911 and tow truck to get the vehicle out of the road. No dashboard warning or error message appeared prior to the failure. Never had issues with engine cold start prior to the failure. Basically, the battery was good to cold start the engine prior to the incident, but while driving when the car came to a stop at a red light for few seconds, the Automatic Stop-Start System's engagement somehow suddenly cause the battery not able to start the engine anymore. The issue poses a serious safety hazard, particularly if it occurs in traffic, at intersections, or on highways, as it may leave the car stranded in a dangerous location.

the [S] is constantly blinking, the check engine light On, the temperature light is on as cold, and the eye sight and anti collision is off.

I am writing to express serious concerns about the Auto Start-Stop feature, which poses a significant safety risk when it causes shutdowns in critical situations. Recently, my vehicle shut off due to Auto Start-Stop while in the express lane of a highway. A depleted battery prevented it from restarting, leaving me stranded without the ability to shift to neutral or activate brake lights and hazard signals. For 30 minutes, I was stuck in a vulnerable position, forcing high-speed traffic to swerve dangerously close to my vehicle. While the battery issue was a factor, the car would have remained running had I been able to turn it off manually once parked. Reports from other drivers indicate similar issues, including stalling, hesitation, and complete system failures. Given these risks, I urge the NHTSA to investigate this feature and require manufacturers to provide a permanent disable option rather than a temporary one that resets.

The airbag system has a sensor issue and I keep getting warnings from Subaru to get it fixed because it affects the seatbelts. The garage where I take my car says they are unable to get the part needed for the passenger sensor. And, Subaru says they need to replace the whole harness for $6000. Makes me wonder why a safety issue like this one seen in other Subaru’s have been recalled but not my model… Also the start stop feature drains the battery excessively. I have had to replace the battery twice in less than a year. I push the button to stop this feature the minute I get into the car.

Periodically, the vehicle stalls at stop lights, stop signs, and in other situations when coming to a complete stop. Once the vehicle comes to a complete stop and turns off due to the auto-stop/start function, it stalls immediately after the car re-starts and you press the gas pedal. This leaves the vehicle stalled in intersections and in potentially dangerous conditions. You must engage park and restart the vehicle while stopped in the middle of traffic, which poses a significant safety risk. I believe this issue is related to the auto-stop/start functionality. The vehicle has been inspected by a Subaru dealer several times, but they claim they cannot reproduce the problem and there are no diagnostic codes or warning lights. No other mechanic has inspected the vehicle.

My car completely lost power. I had driven to the stop light and was waiting when it lost power. It had no power for several minutes and was unresponsive to the ignition or anything else.

Stopped in traffic near a red light. The Auto Stop/Start was enabled and activated when stopped at the light. When the light turned green, tried to go, but the AS/S system failed. A “No Eyesight” warning flashed and disappeared; various symbol lights blinked. Car would not start, hazards would not activate. After 20-30 seconds, I was able to put the car in park and restart the engine (would not start before then). No battery or check engine lights had been on previously, up to date on oil changes, 35k total miles, and I had a quarter tank of gas. This was scary as I was stuck in the middle of the road with my children while cars behind me tried to pass on either side. Many people have reported this issue in Subarus and I’d like for this dangerous problem to be formally addressed.